STATEMENT FROM GARY CALDWELL

Latics skipper Gary Caldwell has issued the following statement on behalf of the players.

He said: “Like many other teams at that time of year, we have travelled abroad to undergone a warm weather training camp.

“We are training twice a day in the heat and the squad is really being put through its paces, more so than we probably could have done at home, judging by the temperatures back there.

“Some of the long-term injured boys have travelled with us too and there is a fantastic spirit of togetherness in the camp when we go away on trips like this, the sort of spirit that got us through last season and will help this one too. We’ve been on similar trips before to Oman and La Manga and it’s always worked for us.

“Obviously, you need your downtime, but we realise that one or two pictures of players lying by the pool that appeared on Twitter may have came across as disrespectful to our supporters, and so we have decided ourselves as a group to take them down to avoid confusion.

“I can assure each and every one of our fans that the players are totally committed and focused on the fight to keep our club in the Barclays Premier League.

“The fans have been different class all season, as they have been since I came to Wigan. We are all fighting together, fans and players, for the good of our club and I’m sure we will continue sticking together in the crucial weeks and months ahead.”